The TV ratings for the UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman Prelims on FX on Saturday represented an increase of nearly half a million viewers over last month’s UFC 161: Evan vs. Henderson Prelims.

The UFC 162 preliminary bout telecast on FX drew an average audience of 1.4 million viewers. The UFC 161 prelims audience was 968,000 viewers.

Andrew Craig bested Chris Leben in the main event of the UFC 162 prelims, which accounted for the largest average viewership since the UFC 158: Jones vs. Sonnen prelims in April.

The preliminary bout TV ratings for UFC pay-per-view events had been drifting steadily down in the past few months, but received a much-needed boost with Saturday’s UFC 162 Prelims on FX.

In the main event on pay-per-view, Chris Weidman did what many of his peers said he could; he defeated longtime UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, although he did it in much more spectacular fashion than most would have predicted. He knocked Silva out with a left hook early in round two.